A Courtship

Amy Kohn's compelling documentary revolves around an extended Michigan family devoted to Christian courtship. To Ron Wright, secular dating that leads to marriage can just as easily result in divorce, so he advises courtship instead. This means no physical affection, including kissing, before marriage, as well as patriarchal control in all matters. When he isn't working as a snowplow dispatcher, Wright manages a website devoted to Christian courtship. Kelly Boggus, a 33-year-old dance teacher, has lived with the couple for seven years. Like Ron, she grew up in the South, and was devastated by her parents' divorce, even though her mother is now happily remarried. Kelly considers the Wrights her spiritual parents, and Ron screens potential husbands for her. Kohn, who spent a year documenting the process, found that the Wright daughters—Savannah and Annika, who receive homeschooling from their mother, Dawn—can't wait to get married. As Annika puts it, her first kiss will be at the altar. The girls have no career aspirations, but fill scrapbooks with drawings of their future weddings. Like Kelly, they plan to live with their parents until they are wed. After Kelly meets Ross, who shares her belief in courtship, she invites him over in order to receive Ron's blessing, which leads to further meetings—but an unforeseen moral crisis lies ahead. Kelly is a quite sympathetic character, so it's hard not to want the best for her even if her anti-feminist approach to romance will surely discomfort many viewers, Christian and otherwise. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)